Parallel Worlds

In this dual biography of William Henry Hunt and Ida Alexander Gibbs, Alexander (history, George Washington U.) explores issues of racism, elitism, and privileges in the early 20th-century American South. Organized into three parts, the first four chapters orient the reader to the life and times of the pair and their youth. The latter seven chapters explore the transatlantic lives these two lived to understand the many worlds African slaves and migrants carried within them when they were brought to America. Alexander includes several sepia photos from Hunt and Gibbs' lives, and concludes with an epilogue connecting his life to theirs. Annotation Ac2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Adele Logan Alexander, Research Professor at George Washington University, was appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Council on the Humanities. She is the author of Ambiguous Lives: Free Women of Color in Rural Georgia, 1789-1879 and Homelands and Waterways: The American Journey of the Bond Family, 1846-1926 and numerous articles and essays. Born and raised in New York City, she and her husband, Clifford Alexander, have two children, five grandchildren, and live in Washington, D. C.